CONNECTING WOMEN ONLINE / ALTERNATIVE NEWS/ZINES

This section contains information about discussion groups/listservs/electronic mailing lists you can join, zines, and alternative news services.

Womennet (http://www.womennet.ca/about.php) the Canadian Women's Information Centre, helps women respond to challenges and improve their quality of life. Whether they are working outside the home or parenting, on their own or with a spouse, young, middle-aged or elderly, women face challenges. Womennet.ca is the site to turn to for information and resources to help women take charge of their lives. This site offers a directory of Canadian women’s resources, a links section which contains hundreds of annotated links to international and Canadian women’s sites (http://www.womennet.ca/directory.php), news and resources, and a bulletin board.

PAR-L (www.unb.ca/PAR-L) is an electronic network of individuals and organizations interested in women-centred policy issues in Canada . It is a tool for developing, conducting, and distributing feminist research in a multidisciplinary context and in both official languages. It is intended as a support for the community of feminist researchers and activists in Canada . PAR-L also maintains an interactive forum for exchanging information about policy, action, and research on issues of concern to women in Canada which is open to anyone who supports their goals.

Women's Enews (www.womensenews.org/subscribe) is a nonprofit independent news service covering the issues that are of particular concern to women. The site allows you to subscribe and start receiving the headlines distributed weekly over email for no charge. This is a US based organization with contributors worldwide.

Common Dreams (www.commondreams.org) is a national non-profit citizens' organization working to bring progressive Americans together to promote progressive visions for America 's future. The newscentre is an eclectic mix of politics, issues and breaking news with an emphasis on progressive perspectives that are increasingly hard to find with our corporate-dominated media. In addition, the Common Dreams website provides links to hundreds of alternative and public media websites from around the world. Founded in 1997, they are committed to being on the cutting-edge of using the internet as a political organizing tool - and creating new models for internet activism.

Finally, A Feminism 101 Blog (http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/) is a lively feminist blog that provides many links to the feminist blogosphere, and discusses many issues relevant to women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.  It is welcoming to both newbie and most seasoned feminists, and feminist critics, and the comments sections of posts are often just as interesting as the original post.

GENDER-RELATED ELECTRONIC FORUMS
(research.umbc.edu/~korenman/wmst/forums.html) is an annotated, frequently-updated listing of publicly-accessible e-mail discussion forums related to women or to women-focused gender issues.

Mediachannel (www.mediachannel.org) is a not-for-profit organization operating in the public interest and is said to have been the first media and democracy supersite on the World Wide Web. On this site you will find daily news, and weekly editions of their publication.

NetFemmes (netfemmes.cdeacf.ca) est un réseau pour et par les femmes, mis sur pied par le Centre de documentation sur l'éducation des adultes et la condition féminine (CDÉACF), organisme à but non lucratif dont la mission est la démocratisation des savoirs et la promotion des savoirs faire des réseaux de l'éducation des adultes et de la condition féminine, et développé en étroite collaboration avec les regroupements nationaux de groupes de femmes du Québec et le Réseau Québécois de chercheuses féministes.

Quebec 's Centre for Media Alternative ( www.cmaq.net ) is on-line in several different languages and is a meeting point and a virtual platform for independent and alternative information. Believing that information should be freed from the mass media’s rigid models, CMAQ wishes to enlarge the scope of the independent media community in Quebec . On this site you will find news on many issues including the anti-globalization movement and genetically modified foods.

Hate Watch (http://www.splcenter.org/intel/hatewatch/hatewatch.jsp) Weekly reports on hate-driven activities in America. Hatewatch collects newspaper reports on events surrounding the movements and members of known hate groups (racist, anti-gay, anti-Semitic,...). Noticeable on this site was the broad coverage, it is not simply hate crimes or acts that are reported, but the general activities of these groups.

Rabble.ca (www.rabble.ca) is a progressive Canadian news service for those looking for alternatives to mainstream media. On this site, you will find news, news, and more news on everything from the anti-globalization movement to Canada 's latest version of the immigration and refugee protection act.

Rural Zone (http://www.ruralwomyn.net/) is a US based site for women living in areas where local feminist organizations are not accessible. Women communicate on-line to share experiences, politics, information and learn from one another. On this site, you will find poetry, images, stories, and calls to action around environmental issues.

Women Online News (www.wwwomen.com/news/wonews.htm) provides news of interest to women as well as feminist news analysis on current events. On this site you'll find news but also trivia questions, freebies, and competitions for joke of the week.

ZINES

Bitch | Feminist Response to Pop Culture (bitchmagazine.com) is a print magazine devoted to incisive commentary on our media-driven world. We feature critiques of TV, movies, magazines, advertising, and more—plus interviews with and profiles of cool, smart women in all areas of pop culture. Bitch seeks to be a fresh, revitalizing voice for feminism, one that welcomes complex arguments and refuses to ignore the contradictory and sometimes uncomfortable details that constitute the realities of women's lives.

Bust (www.bust.com) is a magazine “for women with something to get off their chests.” The website includes articles, a bulletin board, chat, personals, an extensive listing of sites from the “girl wide web” and calls for submissions.

Chicklit (www.chicklit.com) is a website for women about reading, writing, literature and language. This site has articles and reviews, as well as a bulletin board, and links.

Good Girl Magazine (www.goodgirl.ca) was a Canadian quarterly magazine dedicated to publishing ideas that challenge, critique, and break the rules of the status quo. It was published from 2001 to 2004 and showcased young writers and artists of all genders, colours, dimensions, persuasions, and abilities, good girl magazine’s intelligent, thought-provoking content explores perspectives on youth, genders, politics, fads, pop culture, and feminisms.  The site has information on it still, as well as a history of the magazine.

gURL.com (www.gurl.com) is the leading online community for teenage girls. It contains stories, games and interactive content produced with an independent editorial voice. This site is committed to discussing issues that affect the lives of girls age 13 and up in a nonjudgmental, personal way. Through honest writing, visuals and liberal use of humor, they try to give girls a new way of looking at subjects that are crucial to their lives.

Technodyke (www.technodyke.com) is an archive of the online magazine.  Their mission was to provide a gathering place on the internet for lesbians in general and to provide entertainment, education and a vantage point from which to watch and join in the evolution of technology. This site has news and reviews, forums and chat, as well as a music column, drag king section, technology and web design info, web dating and advice.